Amorphous/crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cells with black silicon texture

Excellent passivation of black silicon surfaces by thin amorphous silicon layers deposited with plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition is demonstrated. Minority charge carrier lifetimes of 1.3 milliseconds, enabling an implied open‐circuit voltage of 714 mV, were achieved. The influence of amorphous silicon parasitic epitaxial growth and thickness, as well as of the texture depth is investigated. Furthermore, quantum efficiency gains for wavelengths above 600 nm, as compared to random textured solar cells, are demonstrated in 17.2% efficient amorphous–crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cells with black silicon texture. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Monoclinic honeycomb-layered compound Li3Ni2SbO6: preparation, crystal structure and magnetic properties

Two synthetic routes-ion-exchange preparation from layered Na(3)Ni(2)SbO(6) at 300 °C and direct solid-state synthesis at 1150 °C resulted in layered Li(3)Ni(2)SbO(6), a cation-ordered derivative from the rocksalt type. The Fddd form reported earlier could not be reproduced. According to the XRD Rietveld analysis, Li(3)Ni(2)SbO(6) is a pseudohexagonal monoclinic structure, C2/m, with a = 5.1828(2) ?, b = 8.9677(3) ?, c = 5.1577(2) ?, β = 109.696(2)°. No Li/Ni mixed occupancy was detected. At high temperatures, the magnetic susceptibility follows the Curie-Weiss law with a positive value of Weiss temperature, ～8 K, indicating a predominance of ferromagnetic interactions. However, Li(3)Ni(2)SbO(6) orders antiferromagnetically at T(N)～ 15 K. The effective magnetic moment is 4.3 μ(B)/f.u. which satisfactorily agrees with theoretical estimations assuming high-spin configuration of Ni(2+) (S = 1). Electron spin resonance (ESR) spectra show single Lorentzian shape line attributed to Ni(2+) ion in octahedral coordination. The absorption is characterized by isotropic temperature independent effective g-factor g = 2.150 ± 0.005. In accordance with the layered honeycomb crystal structure determined for Li(3)Ni(2)SbO(6), the superexchange interaction between Ni(2+) ions through Ni-O-Ni pathways within Ni(2)SbO(6) layers are assumed to be ferromagnetic, while the dominant interaction between layers is antiferromagnetic.     

Coexistence of antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic orders at remanent state in epitaxial multiferroic Bi2FeCrO6 nanostructures

We report the local electronic and magnetic properties of Bi(2)FeCrO(6) nanostructures by element-specific polarized x-ray techniques. Sizable magnetic ordering in the remanent state is observed at room temperature for both Fe and Cr ions. The Bi(2)FeCrO(6) system offers an example of d(5)-d(3) magnetic superexchange interaction with a magnetic order for both Fe and Cr, which are both formally in the +?3 valence state. The results suggest a coexistence of antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic superexchange interaction between Fe and Cr spins in the nanostructures at the remanent state and at room temperature.